Clock



(No Model.)

B. DAVIES.

Clock.

No 231,769. Patented Aug. 31,1880.

$5M nZ'or UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD DAVIES, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGEOR CLOCK COMPANY, OF ANSONIA,

TO THE ANSONIA CONNECTICUT.

CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,769,

dated August 31, 1880.

Application filed July 20, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD DAVIES, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to clocks with what are known as exposed escapements-that is to say, clocks in which the escapement-work is contained within a recess or depression in the center of the face of the dial, which is closed at the back by a center plate to conceal the rest of the movement. In such clocks the center plate is usually fastened to a false plate se- I 5 cured to posts projecting from the front plate of the movement, and has fixed in it the posts for supporting the escapement-bridge.

The object of my invention is to so support the center plate of the dial that the posts sup- 2o porting the escapement-bridge may be fixed in the front main plate of the movement, and thus simplify the construction of such clocks, and also to so support the said plate that it will readily accommodate itself to dials in which 2 5 the collars or flanges surrounding their centeropenings are of various depths also, to enable various kinds of dial center plates to be used with one movement.

To these ends my invention consists in the combination, in'a clock-movement, of a dial having a central opening, two posts projecting forward from and fixed in the frame of the movement, an escapement-bridge secured to said posts within the opening of the dial, a

3 5 loose-dial center plate fitting upon said posts, and means preferably consisting of a spring or springs for holding the dial center plate tightly against the opening in the dial.

The springs employed may be of spiral or 0 other form, and if spiral, may be coiled upon the postswhich support the escapemcn t-bridge. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a central section through a portion of a clock-movement and a dial embodying my invention. Fig.2 represents a similar sec tion in a plane at right angles to Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 represents a front or face view of the dial.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

It will be understood that in illustrating my invention 1 have only represented such parts of a clock-movement as are necessary to show its operation, all superfluous parts being omitted.

A and B designate, respectively, the front and back main plates of the movement composing, with posts connecting them, the frame of the movement. C designates an open center dial supported by arms a, projecting from and secured to the front plate, A. D designates the center arbor or main stafi' of the movementcarryingthehands. Alltheseparts are similar in construction and arrangement to corresponding parts in clock-movements as 6 5 commonly constructed, and a more extended description thereof is unnecessary.

E E designate two posts secured in and projecting from the front main plate, A, of the movement, and having secured to their outer ends an escapement-bridge, F, supporting the usual escapement-work G, which is arranged in the opening in the center of the dial of an exposed escapement'clock.

H designates the center plate of the dial, which closes the opening in the dial in rear of the escapement-work G, thus concealing the rest of the wheel-work of the clock from view.

As most clearly represented in Fig. l, the CGDtGIdiELl-Pldt fits loosely upon thetwo posts E, it being adapted to move or slide upon them longitudinally of the posts, and in order to keep the loose plate up close against the flange b, surrounding the central opening in the dial and forming the side of the cavity in which the escapement-work is arranged, I insert a spring or springs between the front main plate of the movement and the loose center plate which exert a constant forward pressure upon the said center plate. 0

The springs l are here shown as of spiral form coiled around the posts E E, and this form of spring is preferably employed. As the posts are made of uniform diameter, the springs and center plate may be both placed upon the posts before securing the escapementbridge F thereto.

The means for supporting the center plate is very simple, being in all respects similar to that used to support a simple escapement- I00 bridge, except in the addition of the springs. It will be observed that if the flanges I) up 'on the dials are not of uniform depth, or the arms a, supporting the dials, are not of exactly 5 uniform length, the inequalities will be automatically compensated for bythe yielding center plate, which will adjust itself to close the opening in the center of the dial.

Instead of springs, any other means might 10 be employed to hold the center plate against the dialas, for instance, nuts engaging with screw-threads on the posts or collars on the posts.

What I claim as my invention, and desire 15 to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a clock-movement,

of a dial having a central opening, two posts fixed in and projecting forward from the frame of the movement, an escapement-bridge secured to said posts within the opening of the 20 dial, aloose dial center plate fitting upon said posts, and means for holding said plate against the dial, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the frame, the open center dial, 0, the posts E, the escapement- 2 5 bridge F, the escapement G, the loose dial center plate H, and the springs I, substantially as specified.

E. DAVIES.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, FREDK. HAYNES. 

